Sexy Lady

Perfect for the weekend!
-R

2 New Albums to Pick Up

Here's a couple new albums I've picked up over the last few weeks that you might enjoy. They're both an easy listen; pop-rock, great recordings, great melodies, you'll enjoy. Both albums are in the same genre..to me, that genre is Coldplay-LITE. Coldplay-LITE, because Coldplay is U2-LITE. You see how this goes???

Anyway, check em' out and tell me what you think...

SNOWPATROL

THE FRAY

-Ross
p.s. I love the album art on both of these too

ATTENTION....URGENT!!!

TONIGHT AT 5PM EASTERN, CHUCK NORRIS WILL BE ON FOX NEWS! SET YOUR DVR'S, AS "THE NORRIS" WILL ADDRESS THE NATION!!!!!

(because let's be honest, he's really running this whole thing...)

-R

The Sajak

I don't know why, but I found myself watching an entire episode of Wheel of Fortune tonight in-between dinner and rehearsal. I believe it was because "the Sajak" beckoned me with his siren-like voice and ageless grin and candor.

Seriously, does this guy age?

Here he is (with Vana) in an early season.
Now, here he is in 2009.
This guy has got it figured out my friends! Just look at him. Ageless, charming, dapper as all get out, and you know he makes a pretty penny. Combine all of the with a name like Pat Sajak and its a perfect storm.

A student of his ways,
Ross

Last Night's Address

Hopefully you caught the congressional address last night by President Obama. It was great! Very clear, articulate, and progressive. It was nice to NOT see a ton of Bush bashing and blaming, and for the most part, bi-partisanship seemed relatively healthy.

Top notch speech.

He did an excellent job focusing his plans and the years to come. Many presidents in the past unload their LONG laundry lists; many of which they know will never see the light of day. And last night, President Obama did not do that.

Two big thumbs up from me anyway!!

So, lets talk about the REAL elephant in the room...

What was up with the republican response, done by Bobby Jindal? Jindal is a 37 year old republican governor from Louisiana who is positioning himself for election in 2012. It was like a junior high spoof of some horrible, folksy Mayberry skit.

Good luck dude.

Survey says XXX.

I think you'll lose man.

You might consider saving your money and time.

Seriously, Ron Paul could have done better.

Check it out if you want a good laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPOR8a2_sMM

Peace,
Ross

Sharing a Moment

Can I just be real, and vulnerable, and exposed with you all for a minute?

Kate and I moved from Kansas City to St. Louis a little over a year ago, and to be honest, a lot of things have been great. But one thing was really missing…

You see, in Kansas City I had fallen in love with a special place called Genghis Kahn. It’s a succulent Mongolian BBQ place in midtown near KU Med. Center. Wow, words cannot describe what one goes through when at “the GK.” Let’s just say, on a good day, you’ll leave with a massive meat headache. Don’t ask. But it’s the sign that you did something right – very right.

Well, ever since we’ve been in St. Louis, there hasn’t been a single Mongolian BBQ place to emerge its beautiful face. Not a single glimmer of hope. And trust me, I’ve looked.

That was until this past week!
Genghis Grill opened no more than 5 minutes from my church!!! It was delicious and brought tears to my eyes. And yes, the meat headache emerged. Thank you mucho!

In honor and respect of “the GK,” it’s no GK. But it is a true effort at mastering “the GK” delicacy. It’s a respectable pupil of the Mongolian way. And alas, I am well pleased.

Thank you for sharing this moment with me.

-Ross

Wax Museum

First of all, wax museums are weird! Whoever thought they were a good idea is nuts. But nonetheless, I saw one on the road the other day and the idea of it grabbed my attention and made me think. And because I regularly jump from tangent to tangent, it made me consider how so much of the time we wear masks to hide our fears, our passions, our truths. And what ends up happening is people having pseudo-relationships, knowing 1/2 truths and lies that they think are complete truths. Its a dark commentary...but it's a commentary.

So that's the back story.

Wax Museum
(c) 2009 Ross Christopher

Verse 1
What if I told you
That she was all a lie
That he was just a creation
Of the mind

Verse 2
What if you saw her
Move just a little
And he moved
Toward her in response

Chorus
Like a wax museum
He lets you see him
But nothing's real
Nothing's real

Verse 3
What would you say
To preserve the lie
To preserve
To never die

Chorus 2
Like a wax museum
She lets you see her
But nothing's real
Nothing's real


-Ross
www.rosschristopher.com
www.myspace.com/rosschristopher

Playing the Weekend Concert Fest

I'm in Carlinville, Illinois at the YRU Fest. A 3 day festival. I'm sitting in the back of the conference room now, having just played set 4 of 5.

This morning i'm in the middle-of-nowhere, waking up in my freezing cold hotel room (because i turned on the fan rather than the heat) and walked out to my Xterra to get some coffee and was surprised to the beautiful white coating all across the countryside.

It was a beautiful, late-Feb. snow, and I was in it.
I was ALL up in it.

So, I'm sitting here, glad i'm here, and will have my last set tomorrow, late morning.

Until then, take care and enjoy the Oscars. (we'll talk about them next week)

-Ross

Ticks

You know what would be horrible? If your house was infested with ticks. I mean really, think about that. Brrrrrrrr...makes me shiver just thinking of waking up all night with ticks on ya. Having to pick them off every morning. Yuck!

-Ross

A City...A People in Desperate Need

Many of you know that a few years back Kate and I went to Anapra, Mexico with our best friends Brandon & Katie Schultz. We stayed with a great family and took in the culture for a week. Since then we've been able to write them and keep in touch.

Things are not good these days. You may have heard about the border conflicts happening in Juarez and the region.

Well, here's an email from Katie highlighting what Estella and family are enduring these days. Please read up. Take in some solidarity and pray whether you might become more involved with what's going on...

I spoke with Estela last night in Anapra (Mexico). I was sad to hear that the people in Anapra are suffering tremendously from this economic down-turn. Estela told me it is 'very very bad'. There are very few jobs to be had, people are loosing their factory work daily. She said groceries have gotten very expensive. And to top it off, the violence in Juarez continues to worsen. She said there have been over 180 murders just in February. (Consequently our visit in May is still 'on' - prayers for our safety during the visit are greatly appreciated).

To highlight just one case that is close to my heart - Estela's son Samuel (who is about 26) and his wife Brenda had twins back in September. They also have Denise (2 years old**see attached photo with Julia in 2007**). Samuel was out of work for a month in Juarez and after no luck hunting down any employeement, he crossed to Denver to find any work he could. Brenda stayed with her parents in their pallet house with four other adults and two other children. Samuel has found very little work in Denver, 'but it is better than nothing' he tells Estela. Brenda told Estela recently that they were only eating a small meal once a day with her parents because no one in the house can find work either. Estela and her husband invited Brenda to come live with them, so they can care for her and the babies. Estela is now stretched very thin financially...

Additionally - Our friend Bertha has lost her job, several of Estela's other children have had their hours dramatically cut. This is in a place where they were previously only earning $50 a week…

***What you can do***

Estela said the biggest need right now is children's clothing. She said the babies in particular are growing so fast, and it is still bitter cold in Mexico in the morning and night. While it will get incredibly hot soon, clothing for all seasons will be helpful. If you have hand-me-downs you could spare, or would be willing to search the sale racks or second-hand shops to send some much needed help it would be appreciated. Of course, money can also be put to good use as well.

Finally - PLEASE PRAY. For our friends pray for Peace. Pray for Provision. Pray for Strength. Pray for Hope. And pray for us Americans, that our hearts may be turned towards Christ through this difficult time.

If you have donations, please contact me and Brandon and I will be happy to package and ship all that we get.

Hopeful,

Katie


So, what are you going to personally do about this???

-Ross

nice one...

And now how much of the stimulus money is going to have to go to educating young girls about self-esteem, image, and health?

This is something I would have said in an interview...but then again, I'm not the president.

It's amazing though, the guy is, in fact, human. A lot of folks are going to be surprised...

-R

More Stimulating Talk

I'm sure you've all caught some media focusing on the government stimulus package. You may agree or disagree. Whatever.

But today I'd like to discuss what, in my humble opinion, MUST happen for this credit/deficit/recession crunch to end and remedy itself.

I get the feeling that politicians want to restore our finances and consumer confidence to the level of the late 90's and post-9/11. It was a time ANYONE could go out, purchase whatever they wanted at 0% APR for 36-48 months. I played into the sex appeal. Weekend after weekend, Kate and I would go to Nebraska Furniture, Lowes, Home Depot, Dillards, and we bought new washers and dryers, 2 couches, a nice living room chair, an entry table, a dinning room table, etc etc etc. We fortunately paid it all off. But a lot of folks didn't. Obviously.

The fault was in the thinking. Remember back to post-9/11 Bush administration. They urged everyone to go buy. Credit was flowing, consumer purchasing was sky-rocketing, home ownership boomed, and we recovered what could have been a devastating blow on 9/11 in less than 6 weeks.

But it was all fake.

We bought what we had no business buying. We loaned what we couldn't get back. Homes we're sold to folks that would never be able to "live" in them. And thus, foreclosures rose, credit lenders stopped lending, and we found ourselves in the meltdown we're in now.

So to simply make credit easy again, plays into the short-term mindset of the Bush admin, and sets us up for long-term failure again. However, to save and become thrifty again as a nation, means that the recession lasts longer.

But...over time, if we become a nation of value and thrift again, won't prices, businesses, credit lenders, home prices, banks, and the like eventually come full circle and even out? To find myself in debt, it doesn't really make sense to start spending like i've never spent before. But that's exactly what the government has done, and is doing now at an alarming rate. nearly 2 trillion in government spending. This is fake money folks. Since January and the inaguration of this stimulus package, the stock market have fallen over 25%. Every time someone from the administration goes live on TV to discuss the stimulus plans, the stocks react negative - between 150 and 400 points FALLING each time. It should be a sign that the people are privy to what's going on and how things work.

So, how's this going to end?

You tell me.

-Ross

Lemons on the Menu

Monday's and Tuesday's, I typically blog about a recent, original, piece of art, writing, song, etc. This week, I'm bringing my focus to another art - cooking. I love to cook. I think maybe if I wasn't a musician, I'd be a spy. But if I weren't a spy, then I'd be a chef.

So last night I decided I'd surprise Kate with a culinary delight. In the vein of Iron Chef, I decided my ingredient of the night was to be LEMONS. Odd choice perhaps...but I went with it. I thought, "you know, lemons are acidy and sweet, and will really bring out the flavor in WHATEVER I decide to cook."

So on to the grocery store I went.

After I had picked up everything I thought I'd need to experiment (i was making this all up as I went along) in the kitchen, here was my menu:

SIDES:
Yukon gold potatoes with cream, pepper corn, and garnished with an orange zest Archway.
Grilled asparagus in a lemon marinade; sea salt; and extra virgin olive oil.


MAIN COURSE:
Seared beef shanks in a lemon zest marinade; garlic, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and bay leaves; smothered in sauteed onions and grilled artichoke hearts.


The dinner was AMAZING! One of my best creations. Its no song, no poem, but mmmmmmm, it was delicious!

And it was washed down with a wonderful bottle of Merlot. Well, I had the Merlot. Kate drank ice water.

Peace,
Chef Roscoe

Solving the Energy Crisis

So I found this video. AWESOME! We should all own 1 of these. And they'd be great for families of 4! Can you imagine driving one of these on a windy day?!?!

World's Smallest Car


This is sexy!
-Ross

Crazy Letterman Interview

Remember Joaquin Phoenix from Walk the Line, the Village, Ladder 49, Hotel Rwanda, Signs, etc??? Great actor no doubt, right?

So check this out if you missed it. I know its a long clip - BUT ITS WORTH THE 5+ MINUTES!

Is this an act, or is he S-T-R-U-N-G out?


Peace,
Ross

St. Louis Snow Day

Book Excerpts #5 - WORDS DO THINGS

Everyone has a story.

Every single person has a tale, a profound epic battle raging inside that doesn’t always make the silver screen.

If we all had access to an M. Night Shyamalan, a Wes Anderson, or the Coen Brothers, wouldn’t life be grand?

If Brad Pit, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julia Roberts or Natalie Portman acted out your life, wouldn’t you feel glamorous?

Ahh, life as a screenplay...

But 99.9999999999% of us don’t have that access.

We do however have our groupings of friends, our small circles of influence, the people we have lunch with every day of the week, the friends we hang out at the local café to discuss politics and rehash the latest SNL; and those people, whether you believe it or not, want and need to hear our story.

So tell it already!

I’d like to think of myself as an observer of culture and my surroundings. I think I do a pretty adequate job of people watching – sometimes more people mocking, but I notice people nonetheless. And when I was in college I noticed something one day while walking through the campus’ quad. Just so we’re clear, my impression of college was great – it’s the only place I’ve been that everyone was cool with everyone. Seemingly no cliques, no insiders or outsiders, no nothing separated anyone from anyone. Maybe it was that we were all tired of our clique-ridden high schools, but nonetheless, the sense of true community was greater than I’d experienced, or have since experienced.

So I’m in what seems to be the safest, friendliest, most inclusive place ever, but for whatever reason, I noticed something that day.

I noticed people walking around, eyes and heads starring straight down as they passed one another. It was like a hurried race to and fro to avoid whatever it was that kept eye contact, face contact, heck any kind of contact from happening. But then I noticed something else. As I saw an acquaintance coming my way, I too took the comfortable low road of looking away.

On that day, this acquaintance was not worth my time, not worth my eye contact, not worth my acknowledgement.

And that makes me sad.

It speaks volumes; sad volumes about our culture, and even more on humanity.

It says that I am more valuable, more worthy; and they, them, you, aren’t worth my time.

And it wasn’t even perceived.

When I think about it today, it still makes me sad how often we divert our attentions and never tell our stories or open up and share our lives with one another.

We have the power to heal one another with our stories.

In James 5, the bible says we can heal one another with words, with stories, with prayer. Our stories can bridge the gap between the homeless and the wealthy. If we listen, we’ll find out that everyone has experienced times of joy, passion, loss, pain, regret, victory, and rejection.

My local church family is pretty diverse. There’s a percentage of folks that own fortune 500 corporations, and others that barely manage to make it from paycheck to paycheck. But at the end of the day, the stories of losing a loved one bring us together. The social lines are blurred when we realize we’ve all experienced the joy of seeing a child born. For at least a short moment, we all have something in common.

And those experiences bind us in ways we otherwise would have missed.

When we tell stories and listen to stories, we walk a little closer toward humanity.

When we walk closer toward humanity, a new community is built and anything is possible.

But we have to tell our stories.

We can’t look away.

We can’t divert our eyes.

We can’t become inward, when we know we need to be more outward. Because in the end, words do things - words do many, may things.

But sometimes, they make me scared.

So here's the song:

VERSE
Head nod or turn away
Distracted, no notice
Don’t give him the time of day
Passer-by gone


CHORUS
Why do I live in my little World
Couldn’t care less what could’ve been said
‘Cause words do things – they make me scared;
Scared of you


VERSE
Here comes another
I stare at my feet
Not to bother;
Bother me

CHORUS

'Nuther Video

Here's a good one courtesy of Brandon. Thanks Brandon!



-Ross

Cool Organization Worth Some Props

I've known about the Mocha Club for a while now. Its a great organization with a great cause. They just recently put out some more interactive schtuff. So enjoy!



-Ross

Best I Can

I wrote this potential song yesterday afternoon...


Best I Can
(c) 2009 Ross Christopher

VERSE
Trivial the trials
Of an upside down town
Aching, aging, breaking in

The worst thing is the comfort
Intoxicate the soul
Every time

CHORUS
I'm doing the best I can
And she's doing the best she can
Even so, don't you know

VERSE
Bumpy roads, the morning -
Paper story tells
Comfort killing with ease

Breezy seasons stare you
In your glazed over eyes
It tells you lies

CHORUS
I'm doing the best I can
And she's doing the best she can
Even so, don't you know

BRIDGE
Don't be fooled
By what you want to see
Ease is not your heaven

CHORUS
I'm doing the best I can
And she's doing the best she can
Even so, don't you know


***this is addressing the intoxicating allure of comfort, ease, and status quo.

Peace,
Ross